9 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR LANDSCAPE AND HARDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” A famous quote by Oscar Wilde that definitely applies to both landscape and hardscape professionals. And since you probably already have the overdressed part covered, we’re going to help with the overeducated part! Bookmark this blog post because it will serve as an extremely valuable tool. We’ve put together a list of 9 great resources for landscape and hardscape professionals!
DESIGN
Houzz.com / @houzz
With more than 12 million photos that can be browsed and filtered, this website is an incredible tool for sparking new ideas and keeping up with industry trends. And since the Houzz community consists of approximately 40 million homeowners, you can be rest assured that many of your clients are using it, too!
Garden Design Magazine / @GardenDesignMag
A rich and vibrant resource for all things gardening, the Garden Design Magazine website and Twitter feed showcase a variety of current material that will give any landscaper at least 100 new design ideas. Learn how to artfully use color in a garden or discover unique regional designs from destinations far and wide.
HGTV Outdoors / @hgtv
It’s ok to be an HGTV junkie. There is nothing wrong with that. And if you’re ever in need of outdoor design inspiration, just peruse the Outdoors section of their website and prepare to be amazed. They even have a special collection of Landscaping and Hardscaping content. Here you’ll find topics like: design, fences and walls, driveways and pathways, beds and mulch, and lawns.
INDUSTRY
Turf Magazine / @TurfMagazine
Turf does a fantastic job of posting relevant and newsworthy content for the landscape/hardscape industry. In an editor’s note published September 20, 2016, Nicole Wisniewski explains the content strategy at Turf: “We listened to you, our Turf readers, as well as our LawnSite members, about your struggles and successes. And we realized one of the things you need most is regular business guidance -- from industry experts as well as your peers. So we framed our entire content plan around that premise.” And from what we’ve seen so far, they’re definitely sticking to that plan!
The Garden Continuum / @GardenContinuum
If you’re looking to get your creative juices flowing with beautiful landscape photography, then be sure to follow the Garden Continuum on Twitter. Their feed is constantly filled with interesting images plus links to informative articles. And their blog is home to an extensive collection of landscaping posts that you’re bound to gain insights from.
Lawn & Landscape / @lawnlandscape
We love the Lawn & Landscape Twitter feed! They consistently share good content and even host live chats on industry-related topics (#landscapechat). We’re equally impressed by their easy-to-navigate website, where you’ll find a wealth of educational podcasts, webinars, videos, and other really great educational material.
MARKETING
HubSpot Marketing Blog / @HubSpot
According to HubSpot, “Inbound Marketing is about using marketing to bring potential customers to you, rather than having your marketing efforts fight for their attention.” You can learn all about the Inbound methodology as well as generate ideas on how to apply it to your business model by subscribing to the HubSpot Marketing Blog. With a comprehensive library of free downloadable guides and other great content, this is one resource you’ll want to keep in your back pocket.
Goliath Hardscape / @goliathinbound
Goliath is a team of creative people who have certainly found their niche … marketing for the hardscape industry! Their mission: To make it easier for Hardscape Dealers, Suppliers, Distributors and Manufacturers to develop and nurture direct relationships with the customers who use their products. Follow them on Twitter and subscribe to their marketing blog for unique ideas and strategies concerning hardscape marketing.
Lakeridge_Mike / @Lakeridgecon
Sometimes the best way to improve is by taking advice from someone who is already doing it right. If you ever find yourself struggling with your Twitter feed, take a glance at Lakeridge_Mike (@Lakeridgecon). This Twitter feed is by far one of the best we’ve seen in the industry. Following all the Twitter best practices, Lakeridge_Mike makes proper use of hashtags, regularly posts relevant and engaging content, and shares a lot of useful info. Proof that he knows how to leverage Twitter … how about his 14.9k likes and almost 6,000 followers?
